1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information acquisition proxy system connected through a network to an information distributing server and further through a network to an information accessing terminal for conducting the mediation for information acquisition from the information accessing terminal, and an information transfer managing system for accomplishing the optimum information transfer to the information accessing terminal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, service for distributing information through a WAN (Wide Area Network) or Internet has been widespreading. Available for improvement of security and efficiency in access to this service, an information acquisition (obtaining) proxy system has come into widespread use. This information acquisition proxy system processes all instructions for information acquisition from an information accessing terminal (browser) the user operates. Some information acquisition proxy system has a function for deriving and recording, as history information, an information identifier specified from an instruction about information acquisition and further for converting this history information into a format, the user can easily read, to transmit the conversion result to a browser, and hence, the user can utilize the history of the information the user has accessed in the past even in the case of using a plurality of browsers (history function).
In addition, some information acquisition proxy system has an information converting feature to perform the conversion of information to be transmitted to a terminal for the purpose of coping with a terminal with a low display ability or capacity, shortening the communication time and reducing the manufacturing cost (information converting function).
Furthermore, some information acquisition proxy system has a facility to accumulate data transmitted to a terminal for a give period of time to immediately transmit the information accumulated to a browser without obtaining data from a server keeping the original information when an acquisition instruction for the same information is again issued from the browser (cache function).
On the other hand, even in the case that, like the Internet, an information acquisition proxy system is unnecessary on security, an information transfer managing system has been employed for a portable accessing terminal having limitations in transfer ability and display ability. The principal function of the information transfer managing system is to carry out automatic re-transmission at circuit disconnection, to shorten the communication time and further to cut down data quantity.
However, the history function the prior techniques have is merely to retain the history of the information the user has accessed, and therefore, for example, difficulty is experience to use, at later access, information indicative of whether or not the user has an interest. Further, the retention of the history is made in units of terminals, and hence, in the case that the same user tries to have access to information through different terminals, there is no way but depending upon the history retained in that terminal irrespective of the fact that the same user gains access.
In addition, in the case of the prior technique, the history function only carries out the record for a specific user, i.e., for one terminal, and hence, when one user gives information addresses of useful information obtained through retrievals or the like to other users belonging to business groups, a means such as a speech and an electronic mail is necessary.
Furthermore, according to the information converting function of the prior technique, when, after one terminal with a low display ability gets incomplete information undergoing conversion, this information is taken through a second terminal accessible thereto without the application of different conversion, there is a need for inputting an information identifier to the second terminal, which leads to a troublesome operation.
Still further, according to the cache function of the prior technique, since the data accumulating time period in a server depends upon access frequency or the like, even if the significance of information is high, in the case that the access frequency to that information is low, there is a probability that the information is erased from, or destroyed, on the server at the time of reading. For this reason, in the case of using information, the user gets during a business trip, at an office after return, the same information is necessary to obtain again.
Moreover, since the prior information acquisition proxy system includes only the function to send information to a browser, in the case of outputting the information to equipment such as a printer other than the browser, it is necessary that the user once takes the information in the browser and then output it to the target equipment. In this case, depending on the ability of the browser, difficulty is encountered to read all the information, so that incomplete information may be outputted to the equipment other than the browser.
Furthermore, since the prior information transfer managing system merely manages information transfer in units of information accessing terminals, in the case of using a different terminal, the continuity on operations is broken even if the same user has access to the same information. For example, even in cases where some information is already referred to through one terminal, since another terminal can not decide whether or not to refer to that information, and hence, may refer to the same information, which deteriorates the work efficiency.
Still further, in cases where information referred to through one terminal undergoes an information conversion and comes into an incomplete situation because of a limitation in its terminal ability, even if an environment occurs later which allows the use of another terminal capable of accessing the information with no application of the conversion, the user tends to forget reference to (consultation with) that information without being aware of the necessity of again referring to the same information.
In addition, in cases where information referred to through one terminal is partially incomplete because of a limitation in its terminal ability, even if an environment occurs later which allows the use of another terminal capable of completely referring to that information, the user tends to forget reference to that information without noticing the necessity of again referring to the same information.
Moreover, in cases where the input of information referred to through one terminal is partially incomplete because of a limitation in its terminal ability, even if an environment occurs later which allows the use of another terminal capable of the complete input of that information, the user tends to forget reference to that information and input without noticing the necessity of again referring to and inputting the same information.